Philippines starts internet voting for Pinoys overseas

THE PHILIPPINES started its overseas internet voting period on Sunday, after finishing a test voting phase for the May 12 midterm elections, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said.

In a statement on Sunday, Comelec spokesman John Rex C. Laudiangco said the test period from March 20 to April 12 was held to allow registered overseas voters to familiarize themselves with the online voting and counting system.

The test validated the system’s accuracy, with all test ballots recorded and counted correctly through an election verifier system, he added.

Internet voting for overseas Filipinos started at 8 a.m. on Sunday in each participating country, with the first ballots cast in Wellington, New Zealand (4 a.m. Manila time).

The voting window will remain open until 7 p.m. Manila time on May 12, aligning with the close of voting in the Philippines for the 2025 national and local elections.

Voting is staggered across 17 global time zones, covering more than 90 foreign posts, including Philippine embassies and consulates across Asia, the Middle East, Europe, Africa and the Americas.

Notable early-start locations were Australia and Guam (6 a.m. Manila time), Japan and Korea (7 a.m.) and Hong Kong, Singapore, and other GMT+8 nations (8 a.m.).

Election Chairman George Erwin M. Garcia told reporters in a Viber chat six voters had cast their ballots at Comelec’s Singapore kiosk within the first 10 minutes of opening.

He said Comelec had approved more than 57,500 local absentee voters and denied over 14,600.

More than 1.6 million Filipinos abroad are registered to vote in the 2025 elections. Seventy-seven diplomatic posts will conduct internet voting, Comelec earlier said.

Filipinos will pick a new set of congressmen, 12 of the 24-member Senate and thousands of local government officials. — Chloe Mari A. Hufana